(a)  After January 5, 1987, no person shall continue in office as county coroner or deputy coroner unless he has been certified under W.S. 9-1-634 as having completed:

(i)  Not later than one (1) year after assuming office, a basic coroner course;

(ii)  Continuing education requirements promulgated by the board of coroner standards pursuant to W.S. 7-4-211(c)(iii).

(b)  Any person who knowingly fails to comply with subsection (a) of this section and continues in office is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each day of noncompliance.

(c)  Each coroner or deputy coroner attending approved classes to receive the certification required by subsection (a) of this section shall receive his present salary or per diem in the same manner and amount as state employees, whichever is greater, and shall be reimbursed for his actual travel and other necessary expenses reasonably incurred in obtaining the required training. The expenses shall be paid by the county in which the coroner or deputy coroner is serving.

(d)  After July 1, 2001, no person shall serve as deputy coroner or as an employee of a county coroner who does not meet the employment standards adopted by the board of coroner standards pursuant to W.S. 7-4-211(c)(v).

(a)  As used in this chapter:

(i)  "Coroner's case" means a case involving a death which was not anticipated and which may involve any of the following conditions:

(A)  Violent or criminal action;

(B)  Apparent suicide;

(C)  Accident;

(D)  Apparent drug or chemical overdose or toxicity;

(E)  The deceased was unattended by a physician or other licensed health care provider;

(F)  Apparent child abuse causes;

(G)  The deceased was a prisoner, trustee, inmate or patient of any county or state corrections facility or state hospital, whether or not the death is unanticipated;

(H)  If the cause is unknown or cannot be certified by a physician;

(J)  A public health hazard is presented; or

(K)  The identity of the victim is unknown or the body is unclaimed.

(ii)  "Coroner's office" means all personnel appointed and elected to the office of coroner, including the county coroner, deputies and assistants;

(iii)  "County coroner" means the elected or appointed officer of the county whose task is to investigate the cause of death in a coroner's case;

(iv)  "Anticipated death" means the death of an individual who had been diagnosed by a physician acting within the scope of his license as being afflicted with an illness or disease reasonably likely to result in death, and there is no cause to believe the death occurred for any reasons other than those associated with the illness or disease;

(v)  "Unattended" means the deceased had not been under the care of a physician or other health care provider acting within the scope of his license within sixty (60) days immediately prior to the date of death.

(a)  After viewing the body and completing his investigation, the coroner shall draw up and sign his verdict on the death under consideration. The coroner shall also make a written docket giving an accurate description of the deceased person, his name if it can be determined, cause and manner of death, including relevant toxicological factors, age of decedent, date and time of death and the description of money and other property found with the body. The verdict and written docket are public records and may be viewed or obtained by request to the coroner, pursuant to W.S. 16-4-202.

(b)  Except as provided in subsections (c), (d), (e), (g) and (o) of this section a toxicology report, a photograph, video recording or audio recording made at the scene of the death or made in the course of a postmortem examination or autopsy made or caused by a coroner shall be confidential and are not public records.

(c)  A surviving spouse, surviving parent, an adult child, personal representative, legal representative, or a legal guardian may:

(i)  View and copy a toxicology report, a photograph or video recording made at the scene of the death or made in the course of a postmortem examination or autopsy made by or caused by a coroner; and

(ii)  Listen to and copy an audio recording made at the scene of the death or made in the course of a postmortem examination or autopsy made by or caused by a coroner.

(d)  Upon making a written request, a law enforcement entity of the state of Wyoming or United States government, a district attorney, the United States attorney for the district of Wyoming, a county, state or federal public health agency, a board licensing health care professionals under title 33 of the Wyoming statutes, the division responsible for administering the Wyoming Workers' Compensation Act, the state occupational epidemiologist, the department and the division responsible for administering the Wyoming Occupational Health and Safety Act, the office of the inspector of mines, insurance companies with legitimate interest in the death, all parties in civil litigation proceedings with legitimate interest in the death or a treating physician, while in performance of his official duty may:

(i)  View and copy a toxicology report, photograph or video recording made at the scene of the death or made in the course of a postmortem examination or autopsy made by or caused by a coroner; and

(ii)  Listen to and copy an audio recording made at the scene of the death or made in the course of a postmortem examination or autopsy made by or caused by a coroner.

(e)  Unless otherwise required in the performance of official duties, the identity of the deceased shall remain confidential in any record obtained under subsection (d) of this section.

(f)  The coroner having custody of a toxicology report, a photograph, a video recording or an audio recording made at any scene of the death or made in the course of a postmortem examination or autopsy may allow the use for case consultation with an appropriate expert. The coroner may also allow the use of a toxicology report, a photograph, a video recording or an audio recording made at the scene of the death or made in the course of a postmortem examination or autopsy by legitimate scientific research organizations or for training purposes provided the identity of the decedent is not published or otherwise made public.

(g)  A court upon showing of good cause, may issue an order authorizing a person to:

(i)  View or copy a toxicology report, photograph or video recording made at the scene of the death or made in the course of a postmortem examination or autopsy made or caused by a coroner; and

(ii)  Listen to and copy an audio recording made at the scene of the death or made in the course of a postmortem examination or autopsy made or caused by a coroner.

(h)  In determining good cause under subsection (g) of this section, the court shall consider:

(i)  Whether the disclosure is necessary for the public evaluation of governmental performance;

(ii)  The seriousness of the intrusion into the family's privacy;

(iii)  Whether the disclosure of the toxicology report, photograph, video recording or audio recording is by the least intrusive means available; and

(iv)  The availability of similar information in other public records regardless of form.

(j)  A surviving spouse shall be given reasonable notice and a copy of any petition filed with the court under subsection (g) of this section and reasonable opportunity to be present and be heard on the matter. If there is no surviving spouse, the notice of the petition being filed and the opportunity to be heard shall be given to the deceased's parents and if the deceased has no living parent, the notice of the petition being filed and the opportunity to be heard shall be given to the adult children of the deceased or legal guardian, personal representative or legal representative of the children of the deceased.

(k)  A coroner or coroner's designee that knowingly violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or both.

(m)  A person who knowingly or purposefully uses the information in a manner other than the specified purpose for which it was released or violates a court order issued under subsection (g) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or both.

(n)  In all cases, the viewing, copying, listening to, or other handling of a toxicology report, photograph, video recording, or audio recording made at a scene of the death or made in the course of a postmortem examination or autopsy made or caused by a coroner shall be under the direct supervision of the coroner, or the coroner's designee, who is the custodian of the record.

(o)  In the event that the coroner, or the coroner's designee, determines that a person's death was caused by an infectious disease, biological toxin or any other cause which may constitute a public health emergency as defined in W.S. 35-4-115(a)(i), the coroner shall release to the state health officer or his designee all information and records required under W.S. 35-4-107. If the state health official or his designee determines upon an examination of the results of the autopsy and the toxicology report that a public health emergency may in fact exist, he shall release the appropriate information to the general public as provided by department of health rules and regulations.

(a)  The county coroner shall have jurisdiction over all archaeological human burials discovered in the county on state or private lands.

(b)  When human remains are discovered:

(i)  The person who discovers the remains shall cease the activity that caused the discovery of the remains and immediately notify law enforcement. If the remains are discovered on private land and the person who discovers the remains is not an agent of the landowner, the individual shall also notify the landowner;

(ii)  When law enforcement is notified that human remains have been discovered within the limits of the county, law enforcement shall notify the coroner who shall determine the approximate age of the burial site. If the human remains constitute an archaeological human burial:

(A)  On private land, the coroner shall notify the state archaeologist and the landowner;

(B)  On state land, the coroner shall notify the state archaeologist and the office of state lands and investments. The office of state lands and investments shall notify any leaseholder;

(C)  The state archaeologist's investigation to determine the forensic value and archaeological context shall be:

(I)  Commenced within two (2) business days of the discovery to protect the integrity of the remains;

(II)  Limited to the discovered human burial site.

(c)  When human remains are exhumed:

(i)  An archaeological human burial shall only be exhumed under the direction and supervision of the state archaeologist in coordination with the county coroner, and provided:

(A)  The coroner shall notify the landowner of exhumation; and

(B)  If the state archaeologist determines that the remains are Native American, the state archaeologist shall notify the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes before exhumation.

(ii)  Absent extraordinary circumstances, exhumation shall be completed not more than six (6) business days from the date the coroner notifies the state archaeologist of the archeological human burial discovery to protect the safety and integrity of the remains.

(d)  When human remains are reinterred:

(i)  When the state archaeologist determines that an archaeological human burial is Native American, after archaeological human remains are exhumed and before reinterment or repatriation, the state archaeologist and county coroner shall:

(A)  Notify and consult with culturally affiliated Native American tribes in accordance with the protocol developed pursuant to subsection (f) of this section; and

(B)  Expend reasonable effort to identify present day descendants.

(ii)  When the state archaeologist determines that an archaeological human burial is not Native American, the state archaeologist shall expend reasonable effort to identify present day descendants and consult with them before reinterment;

(iii)  If no descendants of the person whose remains were exhumed are identifiable, remains may be reinterred on state lands;

(iv)  Subject to the notification of law enforcement, the coroner and the state archaeologist and the procedures in this section, nothing in this section precludes a landowner from working with descendants or Native American tribes to reinter human remains on private lands with the landowner's consent.

(e)  Human remains shall be treated with respect, dignity and with consideration of religious, spiritual and ethnic evidence present at the burial site.

(f)  The state archaeologist in cooperation with the state historic preservation office and county coroners shall work with culturally affiliated tribes including the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes to develop a protocol for consultation, repatriation and reinterment or other disposition of Native American human remains.

(g)  For purposes of this section, "archaeological human burial" includes human remains and funerary objects that, as part of the death rite or ceremony of a culture, are reasonably believed to have been placed with individual human remains at the time of death or later but does not include remains found in known or marked graves, found in established cemeteries or that demonstrate present medicolegal significance.

(h)  A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both.